Kaposi sarcoma of lymph nodes

Sixteen out of 48 adult African patients with Kaposi sarcoma were found to have tumour tissue in lymph nodes. The evidence suggests that there are probably two main types of involvement. One occurs predominantly in younger patients and involves many groups of glands, probably develops in situ, and is associated with a poor prognosis. The other form is the result of metastasis to a node from an aggressive tumour in the neighbourhood. This occurs more commonly in the older patient and carries a much better prognosis than in those with generalised lymphadenopathy, though worse than in patients with nodular disease without gland involvement. Follow-up over a period of many years will be required to discover the outcome in these cases. Kaposi sarcoma is unusual in women but when it occurs runs a more aggressive course than in men.